Linux Commands

How do I Redirect Output to a File in Linux

Redirecting is a method of changing the standard input and output devices when executing a command. Linux commands work by taking input and producing an output.

We can use redirection to send and use the data present in the system so far. By using Redirect, we will not send copies of our data to the system. The following article explains how to use redirect output to a file in Linux.

How do I Redirect Output to a File in Linux?

Direct Redirection is an interesting Linux feature, which allows users to send requests directly to the kernel (stdin) while receiving output from the kernel (stdout) only through direct redirection. Linux allows users to save files using the stdout (output) command, also known as the stream command. Transmitting data between a server and a computer is done with stream commands.

With Redirect, you can make the commands visible in the terminal and save them to review later. Below are a few ways to explain Linux redirection:

Send a Single File Output

We can redirect in bash by using a script or command in the form of > or >>. This command provides the path of the file.

  • The output redirect for the > command changes the file itself.
  • The following command >> adds the given output to the output redirect file.

Stdout displays vital reductions as a standard command. ls is the next command, which displays everything as listed on the screen.

Ls > /path/to/file

This command doesn’t need to specify any path; it automatically displays and saves it.

If you look at the file, the output of the ls command will appear as if the cat command prints the contents to the terminal.

cat /path/to/file

The following command is to be used to print the output redirection.

cat /home/linuxhint/outputfile

Operator > is given when only one output is issued, but >> is used to save the output in the following command:

uname -a >> /path/to/file

Bash creates the file if no file exists; otherwise leaves it as it is and appears at the end if it is appended.

Redirect from Terminal to a Single Output

Given method is used when > or >> is not to be used. In this, instead of > Tee command is used which performs both printing and saving functions. So here is the following command:

command | tee /path/to/file
ls | tee /home/linuxhint/outputfile

Reducing the terminal with the appropriate command overwrites the output by appending > as in the tee command.

Using Top command

The top command is used to view essential information like real-time, memory used, processes being used in the Linux system. B plague is used in the given function. Which gets all the information about the given command, including the full command permissions, and provides the output by specifying its number. The puzzle command is given to redirect the output specified as well as its less command.

top -b -n 1 > topfile.txt

less topfile.txt

Now N attention command will be given, which will be used to determine their number in which one or number is written after n.

top -b -n 1 > top-iteration.txt

Finally, the cat command is used to give details of what is going on.

cat top-iteration.txt | grep Tasks

Conclusion

This article also explains how to redirect the output into a file and add and re-creating the file through the output. We hope that this article will prove to be of your use as well as have learned something from it.

About the author

Prateek Jangid

A passionate Linux user for personal and professional reasons, always exploring what is new in the world of Linux and sharing with my readers.